1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a backlight assembly and an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) apparatus, and more particularly to a backlight assembly having a reduced size and an LCD apparatus having the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, an LCD apparatus can be defined as a display apparatus that allows a user to recognize data processed in an information-processing unit as an image. In order to display the data as the image, the LCD apparatus uses a liquid crystal in which a light transmittance varies with an intensity of an applied electric field.
The LCD apparatus requires technologies capable of applying an electric field to a liquid crystal layer and supplying a light having a uniform brightness to the liquid crystal layer. The liquid crystal layer may be divided into a number of minute areas each having a different intensity of electrical field applied thereto. The technology for applying the electric field to the liquid crystal layer may be performed using a thin film transistor and a transparent conductive thin film.
The technology for supplying the light to the liquid crystal layer may be performed using a CCFL (Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp). This is because the CCFL has various advantages such as a high brightness, a white light, a low heat, a long life and so on. In the CCFL, an electron activates a fluorescent material by discharging secondary electrons caused by dissociating ions and photoelectrons caused by recombining the ions to generate the light.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a conventional CCFL lamp.
Referring to FIG. 1, a CCFL 10 includes a lamp tube 5, a first electrode 8 and a second electrode 9. The lamp tube 5 includes a tube body 4, a fluorescent material layer 3 disposed on an inner wall of the tube body 4 and a discharge gas 2 injected into the tube body 4. First and second electrodes 8 and 9 are disposed in the tube body, facing each other.
The CCFL 10 receives a discharge voltage from an external source, which is sufficient to allow electrons to travel from the first electrode 8 to the second electrode 9 and thus generate a visual ray. To receive the discharge voltage, the first and second electrode 8 and 9 are connected to a first lamp wire 8a and a second lamp wire 9a using a welding process, respectively. The first and second lamp wires 8a and 9a are coupled to a lamp wire connector 7.
As a display size of the LCD apparatus increases, the amount of the light required by the LCD apparatus to properly display images rapidly increases. Accordingly, the LCD apparatus needs a CCFL having a length longer than that of the CCFL 10 shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing another conventional lamp.
In FIG. 2, reference numerals “21” and “22” indicate first and second lamp tubes, respectively. The first and second lamp tubes are L-shaped and paired to form lamp 20. Reference numerals “21a”, “21b”, “22a” and “22b” indicate first to fourth lamp wires for supplying a power voltage to the first and second lamp tubes 21 and 22, and reference numerals “21c” and “21d” indicate lamp wire connectors for the first to fourth lamp wires 21a, 21b, 22a and 22b. 
The CCFLs 10 and 20 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 have a lot of disadvantages regarding the size of a corresponding LCD apparatus. Particularly, since the L-shaped CCFL 20 employs the first to fourth lamp wires 21a, 21b, 22a and 22b having a longer length than that of the CCFL 10 shown in FIG. 1, an entire size of the LCD apparatus that employs the L-shaped CCFL 20 is largely increased.
Hereinafter, the disadvantages regarding the size of the LCD apparatus that employs the L-shaped CCFL 20 will be described with reference to FIG. 3.
FIG. 3 is a partially cut perspective view showing an LCD apparatus having an L-shaped lamp.
Referring to FIG. 3, the LCD apparatus 30 includes a receiving container 31 for receiving the L-shaped CCFL 20 and a light guide plate 32 for receiving the light from the L-shaped CCFL 20. The receiving container 31 has a hexahedron shape that an upper surface is opened, so that the receiving container 31 has first side surface 31a, second side surface 31b, third side surface (not shown), fourth side surface (not shown), and a bottom surface 31c. The light guide plate 32 having a plate shape consisting of four side surfaces, an upper surface and a lower surface is disposed on the bottom surface 31c of the receiving container 31.
The first lamp tube 21 of the L-shaped CCFL 20 having the first and second lamp wires 21a and 21b is disposed between the second surface 31d of the receiving container 31 and the light guide plate 32. The second lamp tube 22 of the L-shape CCFL 20 having the third and fourth lamp wires 22a and 22b is disposed between the first surface 31a of the receiving container 31 and the light guide plate 32.
The receiving container 31 further includes a first barrier rib 31b and a second barrier rib 31e. The first barrier rib 31b is disposed between the second lamp tube 22 and the first side surface 31a of the receiving container 31 to provide a first receiving space for the third lamp wire 22a. The second barrier rib 31e is disposed between the first lamp tube 21 and the second side surface 31d of the receiving container 31 to provide a second receiving space for the first lamp wire 21a. The third lamp wire 22a connected to the second lamp tube 22 is received between the first side surface 31a and the first barrier rib 31b and the first lamp wire 21a connected to the first lamp tube 20 is received between the second side surface 31d and the second barrier rib 31e. 
As aforementioned above, the LCD apparatus needs to form the first and second barrier ribs 31b and 31e on the receiving container 31 to fix the first and third lamp wires 21a and 22a to the receiving container 31. Thus, the size of the receiving container 31 increases by sizes of the first and second receiving spaces, thereby increasing the entire size of the LCD apparatus 30.